Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Thank you to everyone that downloaded or subscribed to the Social Media Podcast, We're No.1 in the Podcasting Section for Audio Podcasts this morning and, No.4 in the combined Audio and Video Podcasting Charts.

Gary Dixon, Spectrum Personnel asked me this morning why the podcast was doing so well; I said to him that, whilst word-of-mouth plays large part in these things, it is the extent and reach of our social media footprint that gets the word out there in the first place. When we released this podcast we promoted it on several platforms some of which are listed below:

These were the main outlets however, there are other networks that our updates post to via Ping.fm and FriendFeed

This highlights the benefits of a good social media presence. It is also worth noting that we didn't create this presence yesterday - it has taken a long time and we will continue to develop our community and take advantage of all new opportunities. New Year is traditionally a time to reflect on where you are and plan for the future, you should be looking at how you can create your on-line community during 2010, believe me, it's worth it.

If you want to download or subscribe to the Social Media Podcast please click here

Monday, December 28, 2009

We are delighted with the progress we're making with the Social Media Podcast - today it rose from No.57 to No.5 in the Podcasting category.

The most recent podcast No.11 is a round-up of the year and some discussion about recent news stories like Telstra's commitment to Social Media and Pepsi's decision to put their $20 million Superbowl advertising budget into a Social Media campaign meaning they will not launch a new advert during the ball game for the first time in 23 years.

We round off the year with a look back at 2009 and a look forward to 2010 when we will continue the New Media Breakfast series as well as launching a new event in Inverness.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Social Media Podcast No.11 is now available on iTunes. We chat about the hot stories this week in Social Media nad round up the year with a look at some of the work we've been doing and explore things like the "Book of the Year", Quote of the Year, Video of the Year and some other general ramblings.

You can search for "Social Media Podcast on iTunes or, link to it here.

It's very encouraging to read stories like the recent post on Mashable about Telstra and their commitment to social media.

Telstra have recently announced mandatory social media training for its 40,000+ staff. They have formalized a '3R's' policy (responsibility, respect and representation) which will empower every member of staff online.

Furthermore, they are re-enforcing their commitment to transparency by announcing their intention to publish their training guides on line.

Well done Telstra.

If you look at the Mashable link you will also see that Pepsi have announced they are withdrawing from Superbowl advertising after 23 straight years. This is not a cost cutting exercise, they are spending the $20 million budget on a social media campaign instead. As reported on Mashable, "Rather than spending money on a Super Bowl ad, Pepsi will launch the Pepsi Refresh Project on January 13, 2010. At that time, users can submit their ideas to Pepsi for ways to refresh their communities, making the world a better place."

This is a major piece of news because Pepsi were one of the companies that made Superbowl adverts iconic in the past, their shift to social media speaks volumes about the changing nature of communication, advertising and engagement.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

You may have seen my recent Twitter post about the Atholl Hotel in Aberdeen not allowing us to plug in a laptop - we were asked not to use their electricity. There were many comments and retweets about this; one Twitter user even recalled a food poisoning scare from last year at the same hotel - not something they would have wanted to re-kindle I'm sure.

This was a good example of how businesses will end up on social media whether they like it or not. People can update their status anytime, anywhere. So, people involved in customer service should be particularly mindful that a bad customer experience will be transmitted around the world instantly. Just the other day a friend of mine, John McGlynn of the Airlink Group posted about a bad experience he was having with EasyJet, I knew all about it, while it was happening. To be fair to EasyJet, they do monitor Twitter posts and I know that Iain Murray of ChardFM received a voucher because he did defend EasyJet in a Twitter post.

The Atholl Hotel incident was closely followed (the next day) by a similar set of circumstances in Simpson's Hotel in Aberdeen - we needed to charge our laptops whilst having a meeting and coffees in their lounge area, they were happy to let us do it - and their coffee was better and cheaper!

The whole incident reminded me of a blog post I read back in February this year from Chris Brogan about the Roger Smith Hotel in New York who actively promote their understanding and commitment to new media by encouraging users to have their meetings in the hotel. Now it's the place that most new media people (and I suspect many from traditional media) choose to stay in New York City, the Atholl Hotel could do with taking a leaf out of their book.

The point is, you can't opt out of social media, everyone is now connected and bad customer experiences will be reported. Understanding and embracing social media is the way forward, connect and engage with your customers, watch what their saying about you and act accordingly.

This December, a vast number of men and women from the UK will be serving abroad during the Christmas period. To help spread some festive cheer, the Holiday Inn Glasgow Airport is offering family and friends the chance to record a personal video message for their loved ones overseas.

Taking place from 10am until 1pm on Wednesday 16th December 2009, the Holiday Inn Glasgow will provide staff, cameras and a media suite to enable family and friends to come in and record up to three minutes of footage per video. Each video recorded on the day will be uploaded to the dedicated YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/HolidayInnHeroes, for service men and women to view online.

Commenting on this initiative, Douglas Winfield, General Manager at the Holiday Inn Glasgow said, “We wanted to do something for those local serving men and women who will be away from their families this Christmas, and we hope these messages will make this time more bearable and remind them that they are always in our thoughts. This is a way for us to show our appreciation for the work they are doing to make our country safer. We look forward to welcoming friends and families to record their messages of love and support for our brave heroes.”

Anyone wishing to record a personal video message should call Kate Trussler on 0131 226 3000 and book a time slot.

IHG, the world’s largest Hotel company, owners of such popular brands as Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Crowne Plaza, Intercontinental and more, have set up a 35% discount scheme on short breaks, for all Forces/MOD family and personal as part of their commitment for Help For Heroes. This means that forces families can benefit from this great offer all year round across Europe for Short Breaks, Holidays, and theme parks. Visit www.IHG.com/forces for more information. The offer is available to all forces members from cadets to vets.

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

The Glasgow breakfast in Friday 27th seems to have been a success with lots of good feedback about John MacKenzie's presentation on legal issues and user generated content. John MacKenzie, partner with Pinsent Masons is clearly an expert in this field and, a very enthusiastic user of social media. And, what a great compliment to his presentation that we ran out of time for the scheduled look at some viral video, the Q&A session and discussion was too good to cut short.

John took us through case studies covering the following topics:

• Using third party's material• Ownership of material posted on social networking or blogging sites• Mashups• Web-scraping• Protecting reputation on Facebook• False testimonials

John also referred to some articles and web sites during his presentation, I have listed these here in no particular order:

Thank you again to John for his presentation, I recommend you come along and hear him at the New Media Breakfast in Edinburgh if you missed him in Glasgow. (Date of New Media Breakfast in Edinburgh to be confirmed)

Thanks also to No.29 who again provided the bacon rolls, tea and coffee with excellent service and attention to detail. What a difference it makes to turn up at a venue and have everything provided the way they said it would be. (See my previous post about Pittodrie in Aberdeen)

The December New Media Breakfast would have fallen between Christmas and New Year so, we have decided to make the next one on the 29th January 2010, we will be posting details about the topic and speakers in due course. To be sure that you are kept up to date with all the events you should join the Podcastmatters Network then join the New Media Breakfast Group where you can get all the details and leave comments or suggestions for the New Media Breakfast Team.